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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29009661">Rather Be Here</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hereliesbethboland/pseuds/Hereliesbethboland'>Hereliesbethboland</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tumblr prompts [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Good Girls (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Flirting, Fluff prompt, Making Out, Mentions of Violence, Prompt Fill, Sexual Tension, Shooting, Target Practice, boomer sucks, brio and guns, graphic violence against unsuspecting scarecrow, these two cuties... love them</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:27:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,765</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29009661</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hereliesbethboland/pseuds/Hereliesbethboland</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rio takes Beth to practice her aim, tension ensues. takes place in a somewhat softer early season 2.. one where he actually teaches her.</p><p> </p><p>Based on fluff prompt (tumblr) from Foxmagpie &lt;3 </p><p>"Stop staring at me" and "I'd rather be here"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Beth Boland/Rio</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tumblr prompts [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2111124</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>64</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Rather Be Here</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I don't own them.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Are you gonna kill me?” she asked, resigned and almost… hopeful? No. She didn’t want to die. She was just so. tired.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The back of his hand grazed the front of her thigh as he held the gun close to her, sending a frisson of heat through her even in this precarious moment. He searched her face and then brought his finger to it, lightly lifting her hair.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m gonna teach you.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Since that night on the street they’ve been having weekly sessions, usually while the kids are at school. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They meet at the park, her house, his warehouse on the Eastside...sometimes they work on target practice which is what they’re doing today, although Beth still doesn’t know why it is necessary. She’s told him a million times she can’t, <em>won't </em>kill anyone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And yet here she is, behind the warehouse with Rio where he has things set up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That mangy-ass weasel tried to rape your baby sister and you still can’t put a bullet in him?” he asks incredulously after Beth gets done telling him the story about the night after the robbery.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I probably could have shot him that night if the gun had been real,” she muses. “I was hysterical.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah so, what’s the moral dilemma now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She thinks for a beat then shrugs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Its self-defense versus murder. I’m afraid of the very </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> consequences of getting caught. I’m pretty sure it's a much longer sentence,” she says, aiming and blasting a hole through the shoulder of a scarecrow. She cringes as hay flies everywhere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You're grippin’ it too tight." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How can you tell?” she asks, eyeing him as he moves towards her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“By the way the nose flew up when you pulled the trigger. You need to relax… c’mon square up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rio comes up close behind her, resting one hand lightly on her hip as one trails down her arm to the gun. He speaks softly into her ear, “Breathe, Ma. Loosen up,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She tries. She really does. But It’s hard to relax around him, especially when he’s close. He’s<em> intense</em> and he smells like the most understated and attractive cologne that’s ever graced her nose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok I think I got it,” she says snippily to him, hoping he'll move so before he feels the heat coming from her. She's almost positive Rio is able to tell when she's affected by him, and it’s embarrassing. She really wants to keep her attraction to him under lock and key, as entertaining the thought of anything beyond a working relationship with him is absurd.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> And yet…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The way his hands take their time falling away from her is worth at least a few moments of entertaining, isn’t it?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She fires the gun again and this time the bullet strikes closer to her intended target, the heart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you do this with your other… employees?” she asks, for lack of a better word.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rio huffs and grabs his golden gun off the table, loading in the clip, aiming it and blasting the poor scarecrow’s head off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Show off,” Beth mutters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah,” he says, shooting off its left arm, then its right. “This ain’t Stand and Deliver.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So why me then?” she asks, aiming hers once more. The previous shots make her ears ring despite the earplugs he'd given her, but she focuses and takes a deep breath in... out.... then fires a shot that plunges in a few inches above the sharpie-marked heart. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In typical fashion, Rio doesn’t answer her question right away. It’s a game they play; one with no objective other than to see who is better at resisting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good shot,” he says and she can’t help the feeling of pride that swells in her chest. He sticks his piece in the waistband of his pants and comes to stand next to her again. “Get back in position." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s so close she can smell the cinnamon on his breath when he speaks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do I make you nervous, Elizabeth?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The wind picks up, blowing wisps of her hair into her face. He removes one hand from his hoodie pocket and tucks the strands behind her ear, coming closer in front of her so that her outstretched arms are touching his chest. Rio adjusts her arms, lifting them a bit, then puts his hands back in his pockets and moves to her side. She feels his eyes on her; hyper aware of what her face is doing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The truth is that he <em>does</em> make her nervous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> In particular, this session has been very <em>hands-on</em>, and she’s feeling restless and itchy. She let's his question go unanswered as well however, the rapid sound of her heartbeat and the obvious schooling of her breath are dead giveaways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <b>Stop staring at me</b>
  <span>,” she says, frustration mounting under his scrutiny.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leans in close and whispers into her ear again. “Shoot him in the heart." </span>
  <span>A shiver runs through her at the feel of his lower lip grazing the shell of her ear. “Don’t miss this time.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He doesn’t flinch when she fires the round right through the red ‘X’.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beth lowers her gun and turns to face him, looking him squarely in the eye. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You do well under pressure,” he says, moving back as he speaks. “That’s one reason I’m investing in you. Rare quality to have.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her phone alarm beeps and it startles her. She reaches into her back pocket for it, turning it off as Rio moves over to the table, packing the rounds back into the lockbox.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have to go,” she says and he nods. She stands there fidgeting because the air between them seems to demand more of an explanation, even though she knows Rio doesn’t need one. “My mother-in-law is coming for dinner. It's…I’m cooking. I have to …” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leans against the table and looks at her unassumingly. The command in his casual posture riles her up but at the same time, it's part of what she wants to learn from him. Thus far it hasn’t been an obvious part of their lessons. How can he teach something he possesses naturally? Still, Beth is a good student and a great imitator and somehow she feels his subtle power is rubbing off on her. Maybe she can test it out... turn the tables on him. Make <em>him</em> feel like prey for once with her eyes and hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guess you better go then,” he says lowly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The challenge in his voice helps to make up her mind. She keeps her eyes steady on his as she moves into his space, setting the gun down on the table behind him, and allowing her sweater-clad chest to brush against his as she does.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rio's eyes widen a fraction as she lifts her hands up and gently pulls his beanie down over his ears. Her fingers then trail down his neck, feathering over the wings of his tattoo, and she hears his breath hitch. Her eyes fall to his mouth when he licks his lips, heat pooling in her belly and her confidence dimming under the weight of what the action does to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She lets her hands fall like he does with her, hoping it's at the exact moment he wants more. Then, she leans in and brushes her cheek against his. </span>
</p><p>
  <b>“I’d rather be here</b>
  <span>,” she whispers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His hands go to her hips and she can’t help the smile of victory that spreads widely. Rio clocks it and smirks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” he asks, eyebrow quirking attractively as he pulls her between his legs. His hands squeeze and release her hips and Beth feels it in her core, her whole body lighting up under his touch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She answers him with her eyes and sticks her hands in his hoodie pockets, pressing against him. The feeling of his hard angles against her soft curves spurs her on as she leans into his neck, kissing the wing of his eagle. He groans softly and his eyes fall shut as she rides the wave of boldness and drags her lips slowly along his jawline, ending  the trail with a kiss to his bottom lip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rio’s arms wrap fully around her then, trapping her against his body. He kisses hard, the sheer force of it bending her backwards. His plump lips moving over hers feel gentle and fierce all at once, and she moans into him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tastes amazing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His fingers thread into her hair as he stands up and walks her backwards and she grips his sides as they go. Beth’s back hits the warehouse wall and his mouth continues its relentless assault as he presses his thigh between her legs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beth whimpers, trying desperately not to grind herself against him, aware of how completely out of her control and into </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> this situation is becoming.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn darlin’,” he says, pulling back from her mouth and fixing her with a wild gaze. “You know what you do to me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or maybe not…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He moves one of his hands from her hair and caresses over her neck... her collarbone... watching himself continue down until he’s softly palming her full breast. Beth moans softly and his eyes shoot back up to hers - the look on his face - like he can't believe she's letting him touch her. Almost like... <em>wonder. </em></span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly overwhelmed with need for him, she grabs the collar of his coat and pulls him back to her, licking and sucking and biting his lips until they're both aching with need.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A sudden crash behind them brings everything to an abrupt stop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beth looks over Rio’s shoulder and he turns his head to see Dags picking the lock box up off the ground along with some other fallen items.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry Boss,” he calls out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dumbass,” Rio says, chuckling as he turns back to her. She’s surprised when he makes no attempt to hide whatever this is from his boy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rio moves away enough to feel the loss but she knows the moment is over. Her body doesn't get the memo though, and her legs feel wobbly as she brings herself up off the wall. Rio’s hands are back in his pockets but his eyes are full of heat and fixed on hers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You free Friday night?” he asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nods, unable to find her voice quite yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aight. You got til then to handle your rotten egg.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beth's eyes narrow in confusion and she opens her mouth to protest, but then his finger is there ghosting over her lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shh.. cmon mama. You got this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She searches his eyes, the sincerity she sees making her think maybe she does.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p>
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